First thoughts upon hearing "Japan".

[Gottesstrafe]

The Vapors.... What, am I the only one?


Also family I suppose. I'm half Japanese on my mother's side, I go up and visit them every few years and keep in touch when I can.

 

[Okulossos]

they arent all "strangly" drawn..the style is actually pretty similar to the "disney" style from back then though it has changes/evolved somwhat...it really depends on the individual Anime

Yea, completely similar ... oh, actually they are not even close to being anything like similar...

I've watched some good anime..and only ONE studio Ghibli film....its there and its not even hard to find

Yea, that is what they all tell me... Yet no one can prove it

what> I'm pretty sure the "rape" part is the other way arouns..they have the lowest rate

check current statistics... and mind the population.

based on their fucking cartoons?

I don't know anything about that kind of cartoon, but I do know about those popular cartoons that are just so very, very bad... and no, that is not why japan is not my favorite country.

HAHAHAHA...do you also honestly think Anime is a big popular ting in Japan?....no...its no more "acceptible" than the nerd stuff here..in fact less so because of their conservative culture

Great, but the topic was "First thoughts upon hearing 'japan'" and not "the unchecked 'truth' a japan-fanboy wants to hear", now was it?
It is my opinion and last time I checked I was entitled to one . I am not saying, that you should stop loving anime and those very poorly written storys and big-eyed children-like characters in short skirts with squeaky voices, I am just saying that I do not like it and never will.

 

[TheEvilCheese]

what> I'm pretty sure the "rape" part is the other way arouns..they have the lowest rate

check current statistics... and mind the population.

What statistics are these?

As they say on the internet, pics or it didn't happen.

 

[Okulossos]

What statistics are these?

As they say on the internet, pics or it didn't happen.

Ok, lets put is differently. Japan has a problem with groping, that is big enough to have women-only subways. We also know that just about 10% of all rapes are never being reported, since it is quite a delicate thing to admit, and if you have such a broken culture where conservative thinking is practiced to such an extreme alongside a hidden rebellion against it you will think twice before talking about being raped.
Oh, and if you think, that groping is that much better... I don't know, it is "better" in the sense that it doesn't go as far, but all in all you are still being touched against your will and I don't think that you can talk about "better" or "worse" in that context, because it is already way beyond acceptable.

I also think it is funny to argue in a thread about opinion on the internet, on the escapist about a country most of the participants of the discussion have never visited and just like because of nerdy stuff coming from there.

 

[TheEvilCheese]

What statistics are these?

As they say on the internet, pics or it didn't happen.

Ok, lets put is differently. Japan has a problem with groping, that is big enough to have women-only subways. We also know that just about 10% of all rapes are never being reported, since it is quite a delicate thing to admit, and if you have such a broken culture where conservative thinking is practiced to such an extreme alongside a hidden rebellion against it you will think twice before talking about being raped.
Oh, and if you think, that groping is that much better... I don't know, it is "better" in the sense that it doesn't go as far, but all in all you are still being touched against your will and I don't think that you can talk about "better" or "worse" in that context, because it is already way beyond acceptable.

I also think it is funny to argue in a thread about opinion on the internet, on the escapist about a country most of the participants of the discussion have never visited and just like because of nerdy stuff coming from there.

If 10% of rapes aren't reported there, that's still 1/20th of the rapes in the U.S per population. I do agree that japan has some serious social problems, particularly sexually, but that doesn't mean they have a high amount of rapes. Lesser sexual assaults may be a big problem but it's not the same thing.

I'm not really arguing, and I haven't attacked anyone in the threads opinion. But I don't like it when people say things that just aren't true looking at the numbers.

 

[TIMESWORDSMAN]

I think of that weird haircut that Japanese men get that parts in the middle of their forehead, then geography.

 

[Okulossos]

If 10% of rapes aren't reported there, that's still 1/20th of the rapes in the U.S per population. I do agree that japan has some serious social problems, particularly sexually, but that doesn't mean they have a high amount of rapes. Lesser sexual assaults may be a big problem but it's not the same thing.

I'm not really arguing, and I haven't attacked anyone in the threads opinion. But I don't like it when people say things that just aren't true looking at the numbers.

Oops, I meant, that only about 10% are ever reported.

Yea, someone is wrong on the internet and especially on the escapist - can't let that go by unchallenged

 

[Vault101]

Yea, completely similar ... oh, actually they are not even close to being anything like similar...

that depends entirly on the specific work since styles can vary ALOT....and anyway Anime did take its cues from disney in the early days (the eyes) of coarse difference styles have become more popular in recent years

Yea, that is what they all tell me... Yet no one can prove it

of coarse they can't "prove" it...its a subjective point..I could suggest all the anime in existance and you still may not liek it..and therefore I;d be unable to "prove" your "point"

but I digress....I havn;t even watched all that much Anime...but I could recomend

Ghost in the Shell (1995 movie)
Ghost in the Shell Stand alone complex - a series based on the same scource material but no relation to the movie
Paranoia Agent- series, a mystery/psychological thriller
Perfect Blue- one of my favorite films ever..period..precurser to Black Swan
Paprika- kind of like inception
Coy Boy Bebop- kind of goes without saying
The girl who lept through time- a really sweet movie
Redline- visually stunning
now and then, here and there- pretty dark
AKIRA- a landmark Anime film

Great, but the topic was "First thoughts upon hearing 'japan'" and not "the unchecked 'truth' a japan-fanboy wants to hear", now was it?
It is my opinion and last time I checked I was entitled to one .

wait what?....so by that logic I could say "Australia is full of racist shitheads" and that would be ok?

[quote/]I am not saying, that you should stop loving anime and those very poorly written storys and big-eyed children-like characters in short skirts with squeaky voices, I am just saying that I do not like it and never will.[/quote]
see thats the thing..I fucking hate Anime..well I hate all the things you described

I hate Harem stuff or bullshit with big eyes and charachters that look the same aside from their hairstyle and all other stuff and I HATE the whole Otaku thing..I loathe it

but like any other medium Animation (and in this case Animation from Japan) is a medium..not a genre and while alot of those things hold true for a great deal of it..I KNOW it doesn't apply to all...theres too mcuh variety to judge the whole thing on its outside image

the same way I used too think comics were just superhero bullshit with confusing as fuck continuitys and and such...with all women in rediculous outfits and breats the size of melons

but it turns out THATS NOT TRUE AT ALL comics are awsome

my point I'm not saying you have to LIKE Anime (I wouldnt even say I "like" it all that much)...but being utterly convinced its all the "bullshit" you describe is kind of ignorant at best...and Arrogant at worst

[quote/]Ok, lets put is differently. Japan has a problem with groping, that is big enough to have women-only subways. We also know that just about 10% of all rapes are never being reported, since it is quite a delicate thing to admit, and if you have such a broken culture where conservative thinking is practiced to such an extreme alongside a hidden rebellion against it you will think twice before talking about being raped.[/quote]

riiight...so this is also your opinion I guess?

 

[Aesir23]

Maybe it shows just how much of an influence my high school history teacher had on me, but I the first thing I think about is their long history and how much I want to research it. After that, I think of anime and the majority of the companies that made games when I was younger.

 

[ThreeKneeNick]

Visualize it's geographical shape, and imagine a stereotypically Japanese looking man.

This would have been a fun game, to answer the question and then name another country.

 

[Angie7F]

Well, I am kinda relieved to see the replies on this thread. They are mostly correct

When I hear Japan, I think of the Shibuya and Roppongi landscapes. That and mt fuji.

 

[Jason Rayes]

Cuteness. They even have cute rpg enemies that make me feel bad for beating them to death (or imprisoning in pokeballs) Japan even tries to make poo cute. Somehow that is hilarious rather than disturbing.

 

[sextus the crazy]

Weeaboos.

I loathe weeaboos.
.

just for fun...

is there a difference between weaboo and otaku?

I always made the distinction that Otakus in Japan are people who are obsessed with one particular thing to the point that they wont leave home, preferring to spend almost all their time obsessing over whatever it is they are obsessed with. Its also generally used as an insult in Japan, essentially its like calling someone a "basement dwelling, nerd-fanboy".
/quote]

I generally classify those people as hikikomoris, whereas otakus I think of a just giant nerds/ japanophiles.

 

[Okulossos]

that depends entirly on the specific work since styles can vary ALOT....and anyway Anime did take its cues from disney in the early days (the eyes) of coarse difference styles have become more popular in recent years

Ah... I don't really believe you. If they copied it, they did a real bad job.

Ghost in the Shell (1995 movie)

seen it, story is aweful and that robot women is there just for breatshots.

Coy Boy Bebop- kind of goes without saying

patyshots and aweful story

AKIRA- a landmark Anime film

Awful story...

wait what?....so by that logic I could say "Australia is full of racist shitheads" and that would be ok?

If that is you opinion... I'm fine with that, but are you not... you know... generalizing that just a bit too much? i never made a statement about japanese people as a whole .

see thats the thing..I fucking hate Anime..well I hate all the things you described

I hate Harem stuff or bullshit with big eyes and charachters that look the same aside from their hairstyle and all other stuff and I HATE the whole Otaku thing..I loathe it

but like any other medium Animation (and in this case Animation from Japan) is a medium..not a genre and while alot of those things hold true for a great deal of it..I KNOW it doesn't apply to all...theres too mcuh variety to judge the whole thing on its outside image

the same way I used too think comics were just superhero bullshit with confusing as fuck continuitys and and such...with all women in rediculous outfits and breats the size of melons

but it turns out THATS NOT TRUE AT ALL comics are awsome

my point I'm not saying you have to LIKE Anime (I wouldnt even say I "like" it all that much)...but being utterly convinced its all the "bullshit" you describe is kind of ignorant at best...and Arrogant at worst

So you are saying that if I dislike what you like I am ignorant or arrogant? Isn't that... you know... a bit arrogant?
Look, to shorten this internet discussion: I have seen a lot of anime. A former roommate of mine was completely into that stuff on a hipster-level, meaning I got to see a whole lot of fan-subbed strange stuff during that time. So I do have enough information to kinda make up my mind, and I found that every bit of anime I saw, and that was a lot, had truly cheesy to downright terrible writing and that distinct art-style which went hand-in-hand with a certain way women and men are depicted.
I am not a social scientist, but to me it draws an obvious picture of a culture. But the japanese know this themselves and there an a lot of articles and fictional presentations such as movies that issue such topics. It is the western nerd-culture that deliberately ignores these facts in favor of once again having something that has not yet become mainstream. Sad truth and OT, sorry for that .

riiight...so this is also your opinion I guess?

Yea, I already corrected that above... and no, that is not just my opinion. I don't believe, that driving a subway in japan as a women is any kind of fun. A culture where something like that is considered normal should not be wondering if people start making assumptions about a rape-rate being a lot larger than what they show.

 

[UberNoodle]

I've lived 10 years in Japan and thus I no longer think it's weird because I actually know what the place is truly like. It's a remarkable place and from that vantage point I can see how 'weird' and 'insane' my own country looks from the outside. Half the 'crazy Japanese trends' the Net goes crazy about are individuals' art projects, jokes or directly from satirical TV programs.

The door knob licking thing, the mechanical tails and ears thing, the 'latest crazy Japanese invention': almost always somebody having a bit of fun. The 'sex robots' are prototypes for nursing robots for the nation's ageing population. The supposed sex obsession the nation has is really more to do with the fact that sex isn't such a taboo, unlike in the West where we can show a head coming off but not bra. Remember that the modern dildo, the Fleshlight and the Real Doll are American inventions.

The idea in Japan is to keep the kinky and the obsessive in sight, not to drive them into their basements where they keep all their hooks.

I've suffered some racism, sure, but what foreigner hasn't experienced that in any country. I never get singled out, abused from passing cars or directly criticised, which is quite unlike the reports I've had from friends who've visited by home country. Most of the difficulties I have due to my foreign status is bureaucratic, because the systems the nation runs on are so honed to a typical, homogenous standard that people like me, and not just foreigners, are not caught or accommodated.

So, yeah, when I think 'Japan' I think of home. I think of the best rail systems in the world. The most convenient and trouble free lifestyle I've ever had. An amazing language which I have had a ball learning. Of great people who know how to let loose with a microphone and pint of umeshu soda. I consider myself lucky that I no longer need to define this beautiful country and culture by pop culture icons, Baby Boomer rhetoric and scraps of bloggable trivia.

 

[Vault101]

Ah... I don't really believe you. If they copied it, they did a real bad job.

"copying" and "inspired by" are not the same thing

anyway....
[spoiler/][img/]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DJwTdGPcE70/T_PJHuRsTdI/AAAAAAAABng/AQpN9CdiJZE/s1600/Perfect+Blue.png[/img][/spoiler]
[spoiler/][img/]http://lauratobin.webs.com/quiz981outcome1.jpg[/img][/spoiler]
Mima from perfect blue on top....Belle from Beauty and the beast on bottom

while both thease movies came out in the 90's you can see the similarites,

, story is aweful
aweful story
Awful story...

really?..you keep saying that

theres not much I can say then..I don;t know what you consider a "good" story...but moving on

If that is you opinion... I'm fine with that, but are you not... you know... generalizing that just a bit too much? i never made a statement about japanese people as a whole .

making the kind of sweeping claims you are....its pretty close


[quote/]So you are saying that if I dislike what you like I am ignorant or arrogant? Isn't that... you know... a bit arrogant? [/quote]
remember that thing...that I said....in my post....hmm OH HERE IT IS
[quote/]my point I'm not saying you have to LIKE Anime (I wouldnt even say I "like" it all that much)...but being utterly convinced its all the "bullshit" you describe is kind of ignorant at best...and Arrogant at worst[/quote]
I just had a problem with such a dismissive and judgmetal attitude....its one thing to dislike somthing....its another to dismiss it based on only limited exposure...that said though

[quote/]Look, to shorten this internet discussion: I have seen a lot of anime. A former roommate of mine was completely into that stuff on a hipster-level, meaning I got to see a whole lot of fan-subbed strange stuff during that time. So I do have enough information to kinda make up my mind, and I found that every bit of anime I saw, and that was a lot, had truly cheesy to downright terrible writing and that distinct art-style which went hand-in-hand with a certain way women and men are depicted.[/quote]
sounds like your roomates into some pretty shitty Anime

well ok, I don't know how much or to what extent you may have seen it but I still disagree with the fact that you can say its all bad

also the cheesy dialouge thing may be to do with translation/dubbing...even getting good actors it can sound somwhat unatural (hence why subtitles cuts out that kind of distraction)

but whatever..its clear I'm not going to change your mind



[quote/]It is the western nerd-culture that deliberately ignores these facts in favor of once again having something that has not yet become mainstream. [/quote]
no....itd weaboos and self proclaimed Otakus that ignore that...(by "that" I mean that Japan is not some Anime inspired wonderland)

[quote/]Sad truth and OT, sorry for that .[/quote]
I'm going to need a moment to ponder this mind shatter revelation..the smily...the smily totally did it/sarcasm

Yea, I already corrected that above... and no, that is not just my opinion. I don't believe, that driving a subway in japan as a women is any kind of fun. A culture where something like that is considered normal should not be wondering if people start making assumptions about a rape-rate being a lot larger than what they show.

you may be aprently "connecting the dots" in regards to the rape thing...but your still maing shit up and parading it around as fact

also Normal implies its ok....just because a thing is a problem in a culture does not mean it is "ok" and "accepted" in said culture...not that it makes much difference I guess

 

[Okulossos]

Mima from perfect blue on top....Belle from Beauty and the beast on bottom

while both thease movies came out in the 90's you can see the similarites

Sorry, I can't see any similarity except for the fact that both are drawn and colored characters

really?..you keep saying that

theres not much I can say then..I don;t know what you consider a "good" story...but moving on

I keep saying that? Well, I guess that must mean something then...

making the kind of sweeping claims you are....its pretty close

Actually... no

remember that thing...that I said....in my post....hmm OH HERE IT IS
[quote/]my point I'm not saying you have to LIKE Anime (I wouldnt even say I "like" it all that much)...but being utterly convinced its all the "bullshit" you describe is kind of ignorant at best...and Arrogant at worst

I just had a problem with such a dismissive and judgmetal attitude....its one thing to dislike somthing....its another to dismiss it based on only limited exposure...that said though[/quote]
ok, first of all I never used the term "bullshit", my criticism is a lot more constructive, because I pointed out what exactly I dislike. Second to me sounds like you are perhaps not trying to make me like it, but you are still trying to tell me what i have to think about it, which is in some sense not that different. Who has a judgmental attitude? The guy who talk about his opinion or the guy who judges him and his opinion based on his own taste?

sounds like your roomates into some pretty shitty Anime

Maybe, but in that case there must be a lot of bad "anime" out there again proving my point. If there is good "anime" out there is seems to be more of an exception than a rule...

well ok, I don't know how much or to what extent you may have seen it but I still disagree with the fact that you can say its all bad

You disagree with the fact that I can say it is all bad? How can you do that? I can say whatever I want nd that is a fact!

also the cheesy dialouge thing may be to do with translation/dubbing...even getting good actors it can sound somwhat unatural (hence why subtitles cuts out that kind of distraction)

believe it or not, but most of what I have seen had subtitles and japanese voiceover... did it help with the cheese? nope, but it helped in distracting from the awful stuff that was happening on screen.

no....itd weaboos and self proclaimed Otakus that ignore that...(by "that" I mean that Japan is not some Anime inspired wonderland)

I like you writing, it leaves a lot of space for free interpretation .
First of all I don't know what an "Otaku" is, I can guess that it must be some kind of alias for "fanboy". Since I am not that firm with current nerd-slang in the japanese-craze-sector I would just leave it at that, since you do not really dismiss my opinion at that point.

I'm going to need a moment to ponder this mind shatter revelation..the smily...the smily totally did it/sarcasm

Well, the smiley must have done something, else you would not be reacting to it in such a way.

you may be aprently "connecting the dots" in regards to the rape thing...but your still maing shit up and parading it around as fact

I am not making "shit" up (that is something you do in a bathroom, not in a discussion, you should know that), I am just thinking logical and going by the known facts to get the complete picture. You on the other hand seem take a rather... how do I say it... "indifferent" position regarding this subject. Is groping something you do not criticize?

also Normal implies its ok....just because a thing is a problem in a culture does not mean it is "ok" and "accepted" in said culture...not that it makes much difference I guess

But WHY is it a problem in a certain culture? Why can it become a problem? Obviously because in this culture it is not considered to be wrong even though it is forbidden by law. Cultural studies proclaim that conscience is something that is being educated also by culture. If you can not resist the urge to place your hand between the legs of a stranger in public then normally your parents failed. but id it is cultural problem, then the culture failed.

 

[Mr Binary]

I tend to think of they're weird anime or commercials. Cannot embed youtube video.

(watch?v=_KXf3kwjKQ0) That's the one though.

 

[xplosive59]

Virtuoso, the Japanese seem to be really good at everything. Art, Music, Animation, Storytelling, Games, Electronics, Math etc.

Culture as well, Japan has probably one of the worlds most interesting cultural backgrounds that I can think of.

 

[PinkiePyro]

ninjas,anime and god damn it now i want pocky